From Artist to Manager—Working Conditions, Career Satisfaction, and Professional Identity among Graduated Arts Management Students

Abstract

This paper examines the careers of artists and cultural workers who completed a one-year arts management graduate program. After the program, almost half of the participants were in positions with managerial responsibility, of which the majority combined artistic and administrative responsibility. The aim of the study was to fill a knowledge gap with regard to differences between managers and non-managers among graduated arts management students in terms of self-perceived working conditions and professional identity. The study was based on a survey of graduates (N = 73) from the six-year period 2012-2017. The results show that graduates with managerial responsibility view their working conditions significantly better than those without such responsibility. Managers experience more creative and interesting jobs and score higher on extrinsic conditions such as employment security and income level. They also experience higher career satisfaction and express a stronger leader identity, and notably, they retain an artistic identity to the same degree level as non-managers. Finally, leader identity is positively related to career satisfaction, whereas artistic identity implies a precarious working situation and lower career satisfaction.